Last time I wrote about why I was inspired to read Allison Bornstein’s book Wear It Well and why I’m obsessed with her approach to fashion in general. Read here if you missed it.
For the last couple weeks since getting into the book, I’ve been doing Allison’s renowned AB Closet Editing system. She recommends doing the whole process at once, or by categories, but in true ADHD fashion, I’ve done it my own way in fits and starts amidst messes and piles of clothes.
I’d already been thinking about rehauling our closet after coming across the inspo pic below.
Quite the opposite of the above, our walk-in closet until recently was crammed full of clothes that didn’t fit in my dresser, multiple pairs of pants crammed on single hangers, and generally a visual aesthetic that gave manic theatre costume storage room more than peaceful morning dressing routine.
And remember, one of the main goals here is not to have outfit meltdowns in the morning anymore.
So, I embarked on editing my closet, AB style.
The Regulars
I won’t reiterate everything from the book, but basically you start by pulling out everything you wear on a regular basis and taking a look at everything all together. These are your “regulars.”
My regulars include:
My ride or die high-waisted Old Navy jeans (classic blue and black)
Levi’s ribcage jeans (black)
Aritzia Effortless and Dashwood trousers
Black and grey sweaters
Blazers (black, plaid, navy)
Flats, Adidas sneakers, and loafers
Neutral colours, sleek lines, and a significant amount of menswear were front and centre in my regulars. Surprising because I consider my overall aesthetic quite feminine, but also makes sense because I have found some of my best thrifted pieces in the menswear sections.
The Nevers
After looking at your regulars—and this was the overwhelming part for me—the next step is to pull out all the things you never wear, your “nevers.”
You then separate this pile into smaller ones: the stuff you don’t wear but want to wear (your “hows” ie. I want to wear this but don’t know how to style it) and the stuff you don’t wear and don’t want to wear, which you can immediately donate/sell/get rid of.
My nevers pile included SO MANY things. Which is an obvious result of experimenting with my wardrobe and thrifting and personal style over the last couple years, but suddenly my outfit meltdowns made so much sense.
Thoughts and feelings upon evaluating my nevers:
Genuinely nice things I think I would wear more often were buried under stuff that I don’t even reach for. For example, I completely forgot about a mustard yellow pair of Effortless pants from the Aritzia Warehouse Sale that I’d been meaning to get hemmed but just hung up and buried under two pairs of random black trousers I never wear.
A lot of my “hows” were actually “nos” because items either didn’t fit me properly or just aren’t right for me. I had to get real with myself and acknowledge this, and it actually felt pretty good to say goodbye to clothes that are no longer right for me.
Too many duplicates. Lots of grey sweaters and cardigans, multiple oversized black blazers, white tank tops.
I was proud of myself for being ruthless. Everything I haven’t reached for recently (or that I reach for less than a duplicate piece) went into purgatory. I wish I had documented the process in a cute #closetclearout video but it was not cute and I didn’t have a free hand.
A full work week after putting a ton of stuff into purgatory, I said my goodbyes and either donated, consigned, or prepped to list on Poshmark. While I was at it, I threw in a few regulars that just do not make me feel good (awkwardly hanging cardigans, too-tight jeans) and wished them good riddance.
The Hows
I was left with my “hows”: the pieces I would love to wear more but just don’t. Either because I don’t know how to style them or they don’t feel cohesive with my other clothes.
My hows category included two Aritzia Cherelle blazers, trousers that aren’t black or blue, and several dresses that I just know could be cute for fall/winter but that I never know how to properly style for the weather.
And, tragically, my best-ever thrift find, my orange Ganni sweater. I think this might fall into the AB “emotional override” category, but more on this later.
According to AB’s advice, the goal is to organize your closet so you can see everything (regulars and hows), and then begin building outfits that pair the two categories.
The outfit planning stage is still very much in progress, so stay tuned…
I’m thinking of posting a daily outfit pic in Substack Notes next week. Do you follow me there? I’d love if you did and of course shared your own #ootd whenever you felt like it!
Thanks for reading about my closet editing adventures. I’ve collected a few other posts about my personal style and getting dressed history below if you’re curious. You can also find me and follow along on Instagram and TikTok where I hang out sporadically.
loving this series! :) btw - can you recommend any good books or sites for defining your style? (mine, that is?!)
Such helpful tips! I definitely need to do this soon!